


Battlefield Flirting Is Always Fun

by daydreamsonacloudyday



Series: Charlotte "Charlie" Shepard [19]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:14:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25470694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamsonacloudyday/pseuds/daydreamsonacloudyday
Summary: Charlie& Kaidan’s battlefield flirting leads to a steamy exchange back on the Normandy.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko & Female Shepard, Kaidan Alenko & Shepard, Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard, Kaidan Alenko/Shepard
Series: Charlotte "Charlie" Shepard [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/311820
Kudos: 11





	Battlefield Flirting Is Always Fun

**Author's Note:**

> As this leads to smut, there is removal of armor and here’s a few things about that:  
> • Kaidan wears his [alternate armor](https://imgur.com/YkezGDc) that looks like the recolored [Cerberus Ajax Armor](https://imgur.com/BPcoCUd), just like Charlie wears an [N7-colored version of the Ajax Armor](https://sites.google.com/view/charlieshepard/about/armor-locker).  
> • I pretty much headcanon that there’s an undersuit that they wear first underneath all the outer armor that’s skin-tight and that’s the part that seals with their helmet against the vacuum of space when they’re on a planet or whatever, and that it’s got wires and stuff running through it because it’s got the microcomputers in it that generate their shields and release medi-gel when it can and all that. Then comes the heavier, actual "armor" that goes over it for when the shields get down and that’s all the bulletproofed plating and pockets for supplies and stuff. (So I tried to convey all that that in the undressing.)  
>   
> Of course, some other things that are related to this fic that you might want to check out background info on are as follows:  
> • [Charlie’s cybernetics](https://sites.google.com/view/charlieshepard/about/body-modifications#h.p_FBKyrUrW2g0p)  
> • [Charlie’s guns](https://sites.google.com/view/charlieshepard/about/weapons-locker)  
> • [Charlie & Kaidan’s relationship](https://sites.google.com/view/charlieshepard/about/charlies-timeline#h.p_tUKztdwT7NfB)
> 
> More info about Charlie can be found on her website: <https://sites.google.com/view/charlieshepard/home>

Charlie was pissed.

She was pissed before she even strapped on her armor, thanks to the fact that the call for the mission had come right in the middle of her and Kaidan’s _alone_ time.

It just aggravated her even more when she found out the mission was to take back a facility that was overrun by the Illusive Asshole’s evil little henchmen.

What really had Charlie fuming, though, was the Cerberus dickface that had popped up out of nowhere after they had cleared the first section of the base, and hit her in the face with his gun.

All of a sudden, a white blur had moved towards her. She’d barely registered the movement before she felt hard metal meet her face, snapping her head back. It took her another second to process what had happened, that some lowly lackey had managed to whack her in the face with the butt of his gun, and when she did… well, her anger boiled over and she lost her shit.

Hearing the sound of her squadmates reacting, she held out her hand to stop them and glared at the Cerberus trooper.

"This fucker is _mine_ ," she growled, hitting the guy with a cybernetically enhanced uppercut that sent him flying in the air backwards. His helmet flew off, revealing his husk-like face, and he landed a couple feet away from them.

Shaking off the punch, the Cerberus trooper stood up and shot her an ugly look that was probably supposed to be menacing.

"I can’t tell if my punch made your face that ugly, or if it was already like that," Charlie droned, rolling her shoulder and cracking her neck, waiting for the trooper to make his next move.

He smirked—the bastard must have thought he was a hotshot for getting in a hit on her or something—and then charged at her, aiming to throw a punch. Charlie dodged his attack in one easy, fluid motion, moving to a fighting stance beside him.

"What did this guy just get himself into?" Garrus mumbled, and Charlie would have laughed, if she weren’t busy evading another attack from the Cerberus trooper. He just kept coming at her and she simply kept dodging him, even when he tried to play dirty and get off a couple of shots from point blank range. She got into a rhythm and let him go at her for a bit before throwing in a few counterattacks, mostly just to piss him off.

"It’s like watching a cat toying with its dinner," James said, and Charlie smiled to herself as she disarmed the Cerberus trooper and pistol whipped him with his own gun before tossing the weapon aside.

"I almost feel bad for the guy," Garrus answered.

"You know what it’s like to spar with her," Kaidan added, and she could hear the admiration in his voice. "She’s good at what she does."

"Damn right I am," Charlie replied, sweeping the Cerberus trooper off his feet. She finished him off with a punch to the face and then stood up and wiped her hands. "It’s nice not to hold back," she droned, looking towards Garrus, James, and Kaidan, the three of them smiling at her. "I can’t exactly let loose when I spar with you guys. I don’t want to break you."

Instead of the snarky comments she expected back, the smiles dropped from their faces and they raised their guns again, their attention shifting to the Cerberus trooper behind her. Charlie sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she quickly drew her Paladin pistol and whirled around, firing two shots at the trooper’s head—he’d started crawling to where she’d tossed his gun off to the side.

"Spirits, Shepard," Garrus started, and she turned back around, an eyebrow raised, "that was…"

"Awesome," James supplied.

"Impressive," Garrus finished.

"Like I said, it’s nice to let loose without worrying about hurting anyone," she replied flippantly, and Garrus and James tossed a few retorts back at her that she just waved off with a grin. Her eyes caught Kaidan’s, and he was giving her that _look_ he gave her when they found themselves in their bedroom. That smoldering, piercing gaze that made her swallow hard and made a shiver run down her spine. "Well, let’s get going," Charlie ordered, tearing her gaze away from him. "I’ve got better things to be doing."

Kaidan fell into step beside her as they all went to continue through the facility, and she resisted the urge to catch his gaze again.

"That was… pretty hot," he said, his voice a quiet rumble beside her.

Smirking, Charlie raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"Well, we were interrupted before and watching you punch a guy across a room like that is…" Kaidan paused, breathing deeply as he eyed her up and down. "Like I said, it’s hot."

Charlie huffed a laugh. "I couldn’t help myself."

He chuckled, and then he was giving her that _look_ again. "The sight of you going all badass N7 on your enemies makes me wish we were back on the Normandy right now."

"I fucking wish," she replied, looking away from him and at the closed door they were approaching. "But we still have half a base of assholes to clear out."

"Unfortunately."

Sighing, Charlie pulled out her shotgun and prepared to enter the next room. "Unfortunately…"

It wasn’t long until they fought their way to the final group of Cerberus troopers that had taken over the Alliance facility. Garrus and James were bantering with each other as they picked off enemy after enemy from one side of the room, and Charlie and Kaidan were doing what they did best in a fight—seamlessly working together to take out as many enemies as possible.

"Those guardians are going to try and flank James and Garrus," Kaidan pointed out, gesturing to a group of Cerberus guardians making their way across the room, carrying their enormous shields.

"Yeah," Charlie agreed, assessing the situation. "You want to lift them or give me a barrier?"

"I can do either."

"Barrier, then."

Nodding, Kaidan stayed in cover while Charlie stepped out into the open and pulled her sniper rifle off her back. The moment she was exposed, she attracted the attention of other Cerberus troopers in the area, but before they could even fire at her, Kaidan had a biotic barrier around her as she stepped over to get a better angle at the guardians across the room.

Once her sniper rifle was extended, she took a deep breath in, aiming at one of the guardian’s heads through the small slot in the front of the bastard’s shield, and at the perfect time, Kaidan opened up a window in his barrier right in front of the barrel of her rifle. She fired the moment she had her opening in the blue, glowing wall in front of her, quickly aiming and firing at the other guardians and taking them out as well. When they were down, the hole in the barrier shrank away until she was fully enveloped in the blue, glowing field again.

By the time she had taken out the guardians, Garrus and James had taken out most of the other Cerberus troopers that were aimlessly shooting at her despite Kaidan’s barrier protecting her. With a final sniper shot from Garrus that rang out across the room, all the Cerberus enemies were down.

Kaidan lowered the biotic barrier around her, the blue energy briefly washing over her before it faded away, and it sent a slight tingle down Charlie’s spine… so similar to when she felt his biotics brush against her skin when she and Kaidan were in bed together.

"You’re welcome," Garrus said, and Charlie huffed, pulled out of her thoughts.

"Please, those troopers were nothing," she started. "You should be thanking me, I sniped those guardians before they flanked you." Glancing to Kaidan, she couldn’t help but smirk at him. "Besides, do you really think those goons were going to get past Kaidan’s barrier?"

Kaidan huffed. "You’re flattering me."

Oh, she was going to do a lot more than _flatter_ him when they got back to the Normandy. But right then…

"Do a quick sweep and make sure we’re clear before we head out," she ordered, and everyone dispersed to double check that all the enemies were down and no one was hiding around like before. Charlie brushed past Kaidan and side-eyed him. "You know, the way you use your biotics in a fight… blocking fire and throwing guys around like they’re nothing…" She purposely hesitated, looking him up and down with a deep breath the way he had done to her earlier. "The fine, precise control you have over your biotics when you give me a window to shoot from… now _that_ is hot."

Hearing a laugh from behind her, Charlie stiffened, her lips pursing together. "Got a thing for biotics, Shepard?" Garrus asked, and she shot the turian a glare. She didn’t realize he’d approached them, and now James was getting closer, a curious look on his face.

"Not another word, Vakarian."

"I’m curious," Garrus continued, "is using biotics something that’s common in the bedroom with you humans?"

James laughed and Charlie just glared at him, too.

"I’m going to kick your ass if you keep this up."

"So that’s a yes," James supplied, and she groaned in frustration.

"Both of you shut the fuck up or I’ll punch you across the room next!" Charlie declared, storming out of the room.

They laughed at her all the way back to the shuttle.

When Cortez docked the shuttle with the Normandy, Charlie could finally escape the teasing from Garrus and James. Kaidan had taken it well, as he usually did, but she was another story. She never really took this kind of shit well.

"Hey, Charlie, I want to check your shields," Kaidan said softly as everyone went to exit the shuttle.

Furrowing her brows, she eyed him suspiciously. "You just checked them this morning." He raised an eyebrow at her and then he was staring into her eyes with that _look_ again, and her heart skipped a beat. "But, better safe than sorry."

"Hey, Esteban, you might have to sanitize the shuttle later," James called out as he made his way to the armor lockers.

"Sanitize the shuttle? Why?" Cortez replied, confused.

"Oh, fuck off already, this is my ship," Charlie snapped. "And we haven’t done it in the shuttle."

"Right," Cortez answered. "Well, I’m going to go up to the crew deck."

"Don’t bother, we’re leaving," she said, grabbing Kaidan by the hand and dragging him out of the shuttle and away from Cortez. They both still had their armor on and were carrying all their guns, but she didn’t care, and just pulled him past where Garrus and James were changing out of their armor and putting their guns away.

She smashed the elevator button and glared at her squadmates as she waited for the elevator to arrive at the shuttle bay.

"Vega, I’m going to remember this the next time we spar," she said, giving him a tight smile, and he frowned.

"Shit."

"And Garrus? I’m going to kick your ass, too."

The turian’s mandibles twitched, and her smile grew. The elevator opened, and she and Kaidan stepped inside. As the doors closed, she made a face at Garrus and James, and then sighed in relief when she was finally left to some damn peace and quiet.

Or so she thought—Kaidan was laughing at her.

"Not you, too," she groaned, and he grabbed her waist, pulling her close.

"You know they’re just doing it to get under your skin."

"Clearly it works." She sighed, resting her forehead on his armored chest. "You know," she started, pulling back and narrowing her eyes at him. "You didn’t help." The door to the elevator opened and Charlie stepped out, walking into her cabin. "I mean, really, after everything on the way back here you had to go and proposition me right then and there?"

"I was just thinking about what you said to me," Kaidan answered, following her into the room. "About my biotics…" Charlie turned to face him and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile. "Something about how my fine, precise control over them is hot…"

He was giving her those bedroom eyes again, and Charlie licked her lips as she stared back at him, her breath quickening. Stepping towards her, his body lit up with his biotics, his stare now tinged with the familiar blue glow that accompanied them. With a flick of his hand he enveloped her sniper rifle in a mass effect field and lifted it off her back, gently placing it down beside her desk. She quirked an eyebrow at him and he did the same to her assault rifle, submachine gun, shotgun, and finally, her pistol.

Lifting her hands up in a submissive position, Charlie smirked at him. "Oh no, I’m defenseless."

" _You_ are never defenseless," he muttered, biotics fading away, and that’s when she struck. She launched herself forward into a roll and grabbed her pistol. On her way back up to her feet, she immobilized Kaidan so that she had him pressed up against the fish tank with her gun shoved up against the side of his head.

"No, never," she purred, ejecting the thermal clip from her pistol, for safety. "I also seem to remember you saying something about me being a badass and whipping out my N7 skills was hot?" she said, taking his assault rifle from his back and placing it onto the ground, and then his pistol—all while holding her gun at him.

"Something like that," he said with a huff.

She pulled him away from the fish tank and turned him around before she pressed her arm against his chest and pushed him back up against the glass, just a _little_ harder than normal. A grunt slipped out of his mouth as his back hit the fish tank, but it wasn’t a grunt of pain—it was one of appreciation, the sound matching the dark look in his eyes.

Taking a step back, Charlie waved her pistol at him, a pleased smile on her lip. "Start undressing, Major."

With a light chuckle, Kaidan smiled back and began to undo the various clasps and straps of his armor. He took his time, and Charlie watched as he took his shinguards off first and placed them on the floor next to him. The rest of his outer layer of armor followed, with his tactical belt and vest next, and then finally the hard plates of armor running down his arms, all arranged into a neat pile on the floor next to where he stood.

She could see his skin-tight undersuit spread out over his torso and arms, and her eyes followed the electrical wires running through the fabric over the contours and planes of his muscles until they disappeared into the cargo pants he still wore. Those came off next, along with his boots, and then he was just in his undersuit from his head to his toes. Charlie sighed in appreciation, barely anything left to her imagination now.

She couldn’t keep her hands off him anymore, and as she stepped closer to him, she grabbed him with her free hand and pulled him close, all pretense of "being a badass" and all that thrown out the window when her lips met his.

Their kiss was almost explosive, with the way they’d been teasing each other until then, and she moaned when Kaidan nibbled on her lower lip before he dragged his mouth down her neck to the sensitive spot there. She practically melted against him, and she felt him smile against her as he tugged at her skin with his teeth, then lavished the spot with his lips and tongue.

His fingers were working at the clasps of her armor, quickly removing it unlike the slow, lazy way he removed his own. The pieces of her armor were haphazardly dropped to the floor beside them, and then she was in her undersuit as well, and they were almost skin to skin.

Despite the last two layers between them, Charlie could feel the shape and form of Kaidan’s body as they pressed against each other. He’d flipped their positions while taking her outer armor off, and her back was pressed against the fish tank, and she couldn’t help but tug him even closer to her as he captured her lips in another kiss. She could feel his arousal he pressed his hips into hers, and it sent a bolt of heat straight to her core.

Charlie broke the kiss, dragging her teeth over Kaidan’s bottom lip and barely pulled back from him, just enough to get her pistol that she still holding in between them. Running the muzzle of her pistol down his undersuit, she lightly traced the gun over the zipper going down his chest, and then down over his arousal and across the inside of his thigh.

"I want this off," she purred, watching as a shiver ran through his whole body.

"Fuck, Charlie," he breathed, eyes fluttering closed, and she grinned. A moment later, he activated his biotics, and she was the one shivering at the pleasurable buzzing feeling where their bodies touched.

Kaidan’s hands slipped under her butt and as he lifted her up she wrapped her legs around his waist. She tossed her pistol to the ground with the rest of their armor and weapons and locked her arms around his neck, peppering him with kisses as he carried her down the stairs off the landing and over to the bed.

He gently placed her down and then unzipped his undersuit. Before he could even begin to peel it off, Charlie’s hands were snaking up his chest and underneath the material, pushing it off his shoulders, down his torso, and over his butt, so he could get it down his legs and step out of it. Hooking her fingers into the band of his underwear, she pulled that down next, until he was fully bare before her.

Kaidan turned his attention to her undersuit, and while he dragged the zipper down her chest she impatiently reached out and took him in her hand, stroking him. For a moment, his biotics flared and he hesitated with the zipper, but then he got himself under control and continued on his mission to get her as naked as he was. He was clearly in a rush, because once he had her undersuit peeled off her torso, one hand was unhooking her sports bra while the other was shimmying off her underwear and the rest of the undersuit.

Charlie tried helping undress the rest of herself with her free hand, her other hand still stroking him, enjoying the way he would jerk against her and fumble with his hands when she changed her pace and pressure or lightly ran her thumbnail down the underside of him.

"Bed," he whispered, his voice rough, and Charlie obliged, sitting on the bed, leaning back and propping herself up on her elbows. For a moment Kaidan kept his eyes closed and he took a deep breath, and then his eyes opened, tinged with blue as his biotics sprang to life over his bare skin. He held her gaze as he climbed over her, and she swallowed hard, her heart hammering in her chest, not daring to look away until he kissed her and her eyelids fluttered closed of their own accord.

Everywhere Kaidan touched her, his mouth, hands, the length of his body pressing down on hers, was permeated with the pleasant buzz of his biotics. Moaning, Charlie pulled him closer to her, her fingers digging into his back and shoulders. Kaidan slipped his fingers between her legs and she practically skipped a breath at his touch. He already knew how to drive her wild with his fingers, his mouth too, and he capitalized on it. He moved his fingers with purpose, using firm movements that weren’t too hard, and moved slow enough to draw things out, but fast enough to keep building her pleasure—and then there were his biotics. 

The added stimulation of them just made it all better. And it wasn’t just the general buzzing from the blue glowing aura around him. No, he sent out little pulses of energy against her, with that same fine, precise control that he used on the battlefield. He was kissing the sensitive spot on her neck again, too, and she was _so_ close. She lifted her hips into his hand, desperate for release, but before she could finish he slowed his movements and eased her away from the edge.

He was already nestled between her legs, and she lifted one leg, opening them wider as she reached down for him. His fingers left her core only to join hers in guiding himself to her, and when he was lined up, he braced himself on his other hand and slid into her with a groan, his head bowing against hers.

Fingers digging into his butt, Charlie savored the feeling of him inside her, moving only to lock her legs around his waist and pull him deeper. Kaidan started moving, and she could tell neither of them would last very long from there… not with the sounds they were making and the way he’d stopped reigning in his biotics, the blue glow lighting up the room around them.

Holding him close, Charlie matched his movements as they grew close to their peaks. Kaidan reached the edge first, her name on his lips as he tensed and held her tight. His biotics flared out in a burst of energy from him as he reached his release, washing over her and pulling her over the edge with him.

"Kaidan," she gasped, barely able to get his name out, her toes curling and back arching into him as pleasure radiated throughout her body. It took her a moment to regain her senses, but when she did, Kaidan had collapsed into her arms, his face buried in her neck.

His body was a comfortable weight draped over hers, and as her wild heartbeat and quick breaths steadied out, she relaxed, content to idly run her fingers over his back and through his hair. He moved, nuzzling into her neck, and she smiled.

"Well, fuck," she announced, and he laughed, his breath tickling the sensitive skin of her neck. He lifted himself off of her, pulled out a small towel from the nightstand, and quickly cleaned them both up before pulling her under the covers of the bed and into his arms.

"You know," he started, head in his hand as he propped himself up on his elbow, his other hand secured tightly around her waist, "that’s not the first time I’ve seen you in combat and thought it was hot."

Mirroring his position, Charlie traced over his chest, tangling their legs together even more than they already were under the blankets. "Me too," she admitted with half a grin. "Happens more than I’d like to admit."

Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "How often is that?"

"Enough," she supplied. "I mean, I’d never act on it, not during a mission, anyway. But battlefield flirting is always fun."

"Yeah, it is."

"When no one overhears you," Charlie added with a frown. She groaned and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, through the window on the ship’s roof and into space beyond it. "Garrus and James are going to bust my ass about the biotics thing forever."

Kaidan pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her. "Well, you do have a thing for biotics in bed."

Rolling her eyes, she sighed, and then settled into him, resting her head on his chest. "I blame you and your magic fingers," she droned.

Kaidan chuckled, and she could hear the sound deep in his chest. "I’ll take full responsibility," he said.

Charlie smiled, calm in his arms, glad he was comfortable to be himself with her… to let loose, and not maintain the fine control of his biotics he usually strove for—unless he wanted to, of course.

"I love you, Kaidan," she said simply, closing her eyes as the steady sound of his heartbeat started to lull her to sleep. Humming in contentment, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before he whispered back his answer.

"Love you, too, Charlie."


End file.
